The average person has stimuli that instantaneously induce a cringe. Perhaps for some it could be the sound of nails scraping against a chalkboard, seeing Taco Bell "entrees" actually being made, or the voice of Phil Collins. For me it is three magic words. "Dave at Alpine". This simple phrase is the widely used description of the annual frayed baseball hat, bro-tastic migration to East Troy, Wisconsin to see The Dave Matthews Band in all their glory at Alpine Valley music theatre. I have heard this all throughout high school and even into my formative college years, much to my disdain. When I found out one of my favorite bands growing up, Rage Against the Machine, was not only reuniting, but coming to said venue to play their only Midwestern show, I was extremely happy. Surely this event would be the perfect way to exorcise the soul-sucking specter of DMB hanging over this region of Wisconsin.
After coaxing my friend into letting me borrow her mini-van (the only way to fly), me and two other budz leave our Iowa City lair, hungry for the open road. Hours on the road melted away with a group enjoyment of "Ten Things I hate about you" on the video I-pod, yet spirits dwindled as the weather got stormier than Heath Ledger's rebellious, yet sensitive eyes. Maybe I've seen that movie too many times. Anyway, we arrived to a torrential downpour, as the grass parking fields were being reduced to slime even in the early stages of the evening. All doubts were put aside with the mental mantra of "I'm actually seeing Rage Against the Machine", which helped us push on. We walked into the outdoor amphitheatre which is pretty much comprised of a 70 degree angle grass hill and a stage, the former gleefully being slid on by the tattooed and cigarette smoking masses. The beer and rain had provided the perfect lubrication for the fans, who were drunkenly eating it en route to their lawn seats. Yours truly fell on his fanny, while on my cell phone, further adding to my yuppie embarassment.
The rain finally let up as the concert began; making my un-rock and roll fear of pneumonia disappear for the time being. Queens of the Stone Age opened the show, something I would have relished years ago. But alas, times have changed for my once favorite band. Every since lead singer songwriter Josh Homme fired volatile bass player Nick Oliveri, Queens lost the duo’s exciting dynamic that truly made them kick. Judging by the performance, Josh has settled in a more conservative role instead of swinging for the fences.
Finally it the time we all had been waiting for. Lead Rage Guitarist's Tom Morello's mother sauntered out to a hushed crowd to introduce "the best f$$ing band in the universe". (I assume this blog is meant to be PG-13). Rage immediately laid into "Testify", one of the fiercest tracks on 1999's The Battle of Los Angeles. Everyone tirelessly rapped and screamed every word of their career-spanning set, that included such Wisconsin-shaking classics as "Bullet in the Head" and "Freedom". The songs sounded as fresh as ever, not only musically but in terms of the fiery lyrical content than still remains relevant decades after the songs were originally written. Rapper Zack De La Rocha patrolled the stage, eloquently and angrily spewing his self-described “massive militant poetry”. It was also refreshing to see the power of the simple combination of bass, drums and guitar live, contrasted to our current musical world where the average indie hack tries to incorporate any form of obscure instrumentation he or she can get their american apparel adorned grasp upon.
It was one of the most explosive shows I have seen in years, excitement that was temporarily dwindled by our 3 1/2 hour odyssey of getting our car's tires out of the muddy slop and leaving the packed parking lot. Needless to say we arrived home at 7:15 a.m after a rainy return to Iowa City. Perhaps the finest touch to the show was that the lawn was reduced to nothing but muddy, uninhabitable goo, a perfect present to leave to the Dave Matthews Band Fans who were arriving that very next day to watch their mumbling deity and his backing band! HA
Luv, Jarrett
P.S apologies to DMB fans, well not really
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
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